Brandon's Dark Tournament
by Argethio
Summary: Brandon and Yusuke go to the same high school in Tokyo, Japan. But then a man from Brandon's past captures Kuwabara, Kurama, and Keiko, and then challenges Brandon, Yusuke, and Hiei to enter the Dark Tournament, threatening their friends' lives!
1. A Demon and a Blonde

Disclaimer-Disclaimer-Disclaimer  
I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho nor do I have any association with the owners. However, I do own Brandon, Alix, and Sakura and they are copywrited to me. Do not use these characters without my permission. Thank you for your time and please enjoy. I would also appreciate it if you would rate this story. Disclaimer-Disclaimer-Disclaimer  
  
It was raining. Again. It had been this way through the whole week.  
Not that Brandon minded, oh no. He loved the rain. It just made everyone  
else in the house grumpy. And when his family is grumpy, they bitch about  
every little thing. In fact, his little brother was in a screaming fit  
because Brandon beat him in James Bond. It was a simple task. One he  
usually tried to avoid. He just felt like pissing his brother off, that  
was all.  
Brandon got off his black bed and crossed his crimson-walled room and  
grabbed a floor-length, black leather trench coat off a hook on the wall.  
He threw it over his plain black t-shirt, which he wore over a black fish  
net shirt. He straightened his straight-legged black jeans over his black  
boots. He ran his fingers through his shoulder-length dirty-blonde hair,  
making sure his hair was neatly parted down the middle. He looked his six-  
foot tall thin body up and down the mirror. He looked out the window,  
then thought Why do I bother? I'm just going to get wet anyways...  
He started toward the door, and then went back to his black dresser.  
He grabbed a black lighter from on top of his silver stereo. He then  
opened the middle drawer, rummaged to the far right corner, then grabbed  
something and put it in his pocket.  
He made towards the door and opened it, then went down the stairs. He  
made his way through the kitchen and crossed half way across the living  
room before he was stopped by his stepfather's voice.  
"Where are you going, Brandon?" he said in a deep and rough voice.  
Brandon turned and faced him. He had a huge bald spot atop his head and  
was dressed in a white muscle shirt and black khaki-style pants.  
"Nowhere in particular," Brandon answered in a snotty attitude. He  
then stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind him. He was  
immediately greeted with a wave of heavy rain. He ran across the street  
as a blue Nissan drove down the street.  
Things had never been the same since they moved to Tokyo, Japan.  
Everything seemed to go wrong. A speeding car had hit his mother during  
an illegal street race, he had failed his sophomore year in high school,  
his sister had run away from home, and his school had the stupidest  
uniforms in the world.  
He sighed, and then continued down the sidewalk, passing underneath  
canopies and tarps every now-and-then. He got to a corner underneath an  
outstretched roof. From his pocket he withdrew an unopened pack of  
cigarettes. He tore off the plastic seal, then flipped open the top and  
took out a long, tan ended cigarette. He took out the lighter, and then  
lit his cigarette. He replaced the lighter, then inhaled the smoke of his  
cigarette slowly.  
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a very familiar green. He looked up  
and saw Yusuke Urimeshi crossing the street. He seemed distracted as he  
walked, his head bowed toward the ground. He and Yusuke went to the same  
high school together, and could be considered friends. They knew each  
other, but that was about it. He was wearing the same green uniform that  
he was infamous for. He was the only one in the school to violate the  
uniform code so obviously. Yet the teachers have accepted his rebellion,  
so Brandon had learned to do the same.  
When Yusuke had reached his corner, Brandon said, "Hey Yusuke. What's  
happening?" Yusuke's head snapped up and he seemed to be noticing him for  
the first time.  
"Nothing my way. How 'bout you?" Yusuke acknowledged with the usual tough-  
guy smirk. Then his face became suddenly serious, and then he said,  
"Scratch that. There is something wrong." Brandon raised his right  
eyebrow in curiosity.  
"Might I ask what's wrong?" Brandon asked as he lowered his eyebrow, and  
then raised the other.  
"You can ask," Yusuke answered, "But you aren't going to get an answer.  
My problem is my problem. Just like yours are yours. So leave it be at  
that."  
"No way, man," Brandon snapped, "I want to know what is up with you right  
now. I haven't ever seen you like this before. What the hell's wrong?"  
"I said nothing, damn it! Why can't you leave it at that?"  
"Because I'm too damn curious. You know that. Now I'm going to ask you  
one more time." Yusuke started to walk away, but Brandon grabbed him by  
the shoulder and slammed him up against the wall. "What the fuck is wrong  
with you?"  
Yusuke looked to the ground, trying to decide something. I could tell  
him, Yusuke thought. He would understand, him being what he is and all.  
But would he accept it? That's why I'm keeping it from you, Brandon.  
That's why. Yusuke looked up and into Brandon's eyes. Then said, "Yeah,  
I'll tell you."  
There was a long pause as Brandon waited for Yusuke to speak. Just as  
Brandon's patience ran thin, Yusuke said in a choked up voice, "My mom  
drank too much a couple nights ago and got alcohol poisoning. She's been  
hospitalized and is in critical condition. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."  
Brandon's face softened and he let go of Yusuke's shoulder. He said, "I'm  
sorry, I didn't think it was that bad." He leaned back up against the  
wall and continued to smoke his cigarette.  
Yusuke turned toward the streets and waited for the walk signal. He  
turned and said, "See ya later, man." He waved back as he crossed the  
street, then put his hand back into his pocket.  
When Yusuke was out of sight, he said to him self, "You're getting better  
at lying every time I see you." He chuckled to himself, then continued,  
"Do you know about me, Yusuke?" He held his hand out a little way from is  
stomach. A black tattoo appeared over his left eye, two thin lines  
crossing over themselves, each ending and starting in curved points. A  
small black ball appeared in his hand, black and white lightning dancing  
around and on the surface of the sphere. "And do I really know the real  
you?"  
He let the sphere and the tattoo slowly fade away. He finished his  
cigarette, then put it out on the wall behind him and flicked the butt  
into the street. He took another cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and  
then inhaled through it.  
- - -  
He knocked on the wooden door as he flicked his third cigarette onto the  
sidewalk. He waited for some kind of acknowledgment from inside. When he  
received none, he rang the doorbell. Again he waited. When again he heard  
nothing inside, he opened the door. The shutting mechanism was broken  
clean off. The door swung open at his slight touch, creaking as it  
reached the doorstop on the floor. He cautiously stepped inside.  
"Kuwabara?" he called. "Shizuru?" he yelled. When he heard nothing but a  
slight rustling coming from up the stairs. The tattoo over his eye  
appeared again as he slowly crept up the stairs. There was a long moan  
from one of the rooms to his right. He slowly walked in. Laying there,  
face first in the ground, was Shizuru. Brandon quickly knelt by her side  
and felt for a pulse. She still had one, to be confirmed as she stirred  
at his touch. He let the black marks over his eye disappear as she looked  
up at him.  
"Brandon?" she asked as her eyes adjusted to the dark. "Is that you,  
Brandon?" When he nodded, she smiled slightly, and then said, "Kuwabara  
speaks so highly of you."  
Brandon sighed and said, "Kuwabara, the big oaf. I don't understand him,  
nor will I ever. What happened here Shizuru?"  
"What...Happened?" she wondered for a moment, then answered, "Something big  
and black...it came in through the door...broke it. Kuwabara!" She suddenly  
screamed and sat bolt upright.  
"What, what?" Brandon asked as he jumped, startled by Shizuru's sudden  
outburst. "What about Kuwabara-"  
"It took him!" she interrupted, worried. "It took him...left this." She  
handed Brandon a folded piece of black parchment. He opened it up and  
stared at a blank sheet.  
"Um..." Brandon was so confused. He didn't understand why something would  
leave a blank piece of black paper. "Did it say anything else?" he asked.  
"Because there is nothing on this-"  
"It said you can read it," she interrupted once more. "It said something  
about a crystal on a chain."  
Brandon rubbed his chin in thought. What could it mean by a crystal on  
a chain? I can't read this. The creature told lies- Wait! he thought.  
Maybe it meant this. He reached down his shirt and pulled out a long  
black chain necklace. On the end was a thick silver wire, winding around  
a large black crystal. "What could he want me to do with this thing?" He  
looked toward Shizuru. Her eyes were wide as she stared into the crystal.  
"What?" Brandon asked. "What's wrong?"  
"Your one of them, aren't you?" she asked, now staring at Brandon.  
Brandon raised an eyebrow, then asked, "One of what? What am I? What are  
you talking about? Are you sure your okay? Maybe that bump on your-"  
"You're a Spirit Detective, aren't you? Just like Yusuke. Aren't you?"  
She grabbed Brandon by the collar of his shirt and shook him. "You are  
aren't you? AREN'T YOU!?"  
"What the fuck is a Spirit Detective?" he was able to get out as his head  
shook wildly. "And why is Yusuke the one to get such a cool title?"  
Shizuru stopped shaking him, then looked sorry. "Oh...my...Yusuke is going to  
kill me...my oh my oh my..."  
"What the fuck is a Spirit Detective!?" Brandon asked again, now confused  
more than ever.  
Shizuru shook her head and said, "I'll leave that to Yusuke. Just read  
the paper, please."  
Brandon stared at her intently. He had forgotten completely about the  
parchment and crystal clutched in his hands. He looked down at them, then  
held the paper closer to his face. I still can't read it, he thought.  
Maybe... He touched the paper with the crystal, and immediately got  
results. Blood red letters appeared on the dark surface of the paper. It  
spelled out the following;  
Go to the Dark Tournament.  
Get together a team of five.  
Otherwise you and your  
Friends are dead, Brandon.  
Sincerely Yours  
-Nolan  
"Nolan?" Brandon thought to himself, fear welling up inside him as the  
name escaped his lips. He heard movement behind him. He quickly turned  
around, the tattoo returning over his eye. Standing about seven feet  
tall, the multi-armed female creature had blue skin. In each arm was a  
long scimitar, and her eyes and hair glowed green.  
"Who are you?" Brandon asked, staring into her demonic eyes.  
"My name is Ayushi the 8-armed demon. I have come for your head,  
Brandon!"  
Brandon looked at her dumbfounded. A demon? he thought. How can that  
be? Can Japan get any weirder? "Well that's too bad, now isn't it?"  
Brandon mouthed off. He took a cigarette out from his pocket, lit it, and  
took a long hit off of it. "'Cause someone else wants it. So it seems  
you're out of luck."  
The demon did not seem too happy. She yelled, "I will have your head  
before any other!" She ran at him, swinging around all eight swords.  
Before she got near enough to slaughter him, however, he thrust his  
outstretched hand out, hurling a solid black sphere at her. It went  
through her head, melting everything it touched. She fell down lifeless  
and the ball continued through the ceiling. Brandon closed his hand into  
a fist and the ball exploded, flinging black fire everywhere.  
He was at a loss of breath, but quickly regained himself. He looked  
towards Shizuru. She was staring at him, jaw hanging open, eyes wide. She  
asked, "What are you?"  
...:...  
Well, this is my first fanfic, so if you don't like it, get over it and  
send me some suggestions, will ya? And don't forget to rate this story. I  
hope you enjoy and know more chapters on the way.  
  
-Argethio


	2. The Darkness Reawakened

**The Darkness Reawakened**  
  
Disclaimer-Disclaimer-Disclaimer  
  
I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho nor do I have any association with the owners. However, I do own Brandon, Alix, and Sakura and they are copywrited to me. Do not use these characters without my permission. Thank you for your time and please enjoy. I would also appreciate it if you would rate this story.  
  
Disclaimer-Disclaimer-Disclaimer  
  
- - -  
  
"What are you?" Shizuru asked, staring at Brandon wide eyed and open jawed. She wasn't going to take any lies, Brandon knew this. He wouldn't be able to tell her he didn't know what just happened. He would have to tell her the truth.  
"I'm a Dark Mage," he said simply, as if it were just that simple.  
"You use your spirit energy to create those spheres?" she asked. Obviously she was versed in spirit energy, not the use of the body's energy to create magick.  
"Um...not really, actually. Spirit energy is different from what I just did. Spirit energy is complicated, yes, but what I do is even more complicated," Brandon answered.  
"Witchcraft?"  
"No no, witchcraft is drawn from words and actions, along with assorted items. What I do is use my own body's energy to create magick."  
"As in, rabbit-out-of-the-hat magic?"  
"No, that is magic spelled M-A-G-I-C. That magic is used for entertainment and is not truly magick, M-A-G-I-C-K. This magick is dangerous, Dungeons and Dragons-style magick, with a twist.  
"I use my own energy to create magick, I don't draw from some magickal reserve from within my own body. The energy from my body is then sent into the earth and air around me, allowing me to call up one element, the element I was Awakened to."  
"Awakened to? You were Awakened to death, right?" Shizuru asked.  
"Close enough, but no cigar. I was Awakened into the Darkness. My element is dark."  
"The Darkness?"  
"All that is evil and destructive, with a fine line into the Land of Death."  
"This is all so confusing, and-"  
"Complicated? Yes. That's what I said in the beginning. But please pay attention."  
"No...I think I've learned enough for one day." Shizuru rubbed her head. "And what about my brother?"  
"I don't know, Shizuru, sorry."  
"Could you..." She paused, then continued, "Could you use your powers to win the Dark Tournament?"  
"Yeah, that's right, what is the 'Dark Tournament'?" Brandon asked, bringing his mind back to the note(chapter 1).  
"I think you should ask Yusuke about that. I know what it is, don't get me wrong, but Yusuke can explain it better than I can." Shizuru got up and tried the light switch. The lights did not turn on. Shizuru said, "Besides, it seems I need to fix the fuse box. Take care Brandon."   
She waved to him as they went there separate ways down the hall. As Brandon stepped outside, he heard a rustling in a nearby tree. He looked at the tree and was barely able to make out something moving away from him at an insanely fast rate. He got a feeling he had felt only a few minutes before, when the demon Ayushi had attacked him. He shook his head hard, took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. He inhaled, then noticed the rain had suddenly stopped. He needed to find Yusuke and ask him about this Dark Tournament. As he replaced his lighter, his hand brushed something soft yet tough. He withdrew the thing, finding the familiar black note.  
Was that what had been wrong with Yusuke? Had he received a note similar to his? One only Yusuke could read? And what else had he been hiding from him? Brandon could tell there was something else, but what? Then his mind went back to what Shizuru had been ranting  
"Your one of them, aren't you?" she asked, now staring at Brandon.   
Brandon raised an eyebrow, then asked, "One of what? What am I? What are you talking about? Are you sure your okay? Maybe that bump on your-"  
"You're a Spirit Detective, aren't you? Just like Yusuke. Aren't you?" She grabbed Brandon by the collar of his shirt and shook him. "You are aren't you? AREN'T YOU!?"  
That would explain a lot of things. Why Yusuke had been so reluctant to tell him what was on his mind and why he made such a horrible lie. Yusuke had told him only weeks before his mother had stopped her drinking problem. He shrugged, then thought So I'll just find out two things. The Dark Tournament and what the hell a Spirit Detective is. Sounded good. He went around the corner, crossed the street, and headed to Yusuke's house.  
  
- - -  
  
It had been a little over a year now, since his Awakening. He still remembered what it was like.  
Raphiel had come to his house one day, claiming to be with the hotel Brandon had applied to for a job. He had taken him outside, saying he was taking Brandon for an interview. That's when he had learned what he was. He was one of the Unawakened. A very special boy, as he had said. Magick had long ago died out from this world, and Brandon being able to be Awakened and use magick was an excellent advantage for their crusade of light. Raphiel was an Awakened, Awakened to the Light. He wanted Brandon to be Awakened to the Light. He didn't mind. The Light was okay. He would have preferred fire, but the Light was good.  
Then, the news. An ex-girlfriend of his had been kidnapped and was going to be used as a dark sacrifice. Usually, all he would have done was worry. But when Raphiel had told him the name of the girl, it became personal; Brittany Hansford. The girl he still liked. The girl he loved. They had left for Naples, Florida that day from his old home, Colorado Springs, Colorado. It had taken weeks, and Brandon had been getting more and more worried.  
In their journey, however, they ran into trouble. While in Georgia, they he was captured by the man who had kidnapped Brittany. The man's name was Nolan. He was an Awakened, Awakened to the Darkness. He was going to Awaken Brandon to the Darkness and use him for his unholy crusade.  
By now, Brandon was getting tired of all this Light and Dark shit along with all the holy crusade this and unholy crusade that.  
Raphiel had come in to help rescue him. Of course, being with the Light, he had a confrontation with the Darkness. Raphiel and Nolan had fought. They both had inhuman speed. He had had his Awakening in the middle of this bout.  
Raphiel had informed him of all the taxing ways of the Awakening. It was a minute and a half worth of pain and suffering. In the Awakening, the Awakened must be hit with a high concentration of elemental magick. Otherwise, the Awakened will return to normal, just as they were before their Awakening.  
As he had his Awakening, the two kept trying to kill each other and Awaken Brandon to their element. A minute had passed before the Awakening was complete. His throat was raw with screaming and yelling in pain. As Raphiel tried to hit Brandon with a ray of pure white light, Nolan launched a dark lightning bolt at Raphiel. Raphiel deflected the lighting bolt...right towards Brandon! Brandon looked at the bolt as it flew towards him. Everything seemed to pause for a moment as the bolt hung an inch from his face. Then it hit him in the left eye. The last thing he remembered after that was a searing pain in his eye and Nolan's cackling laughter. He then blacked out.  
He woke up the next day in a white bed in a white room. Was it really white? Was it just his eyesight? Was he dead, and in heaven? He knew not. He lost consciousness every now and then, waking up in the same room every time. Once, Raphiel was by his bed. So Nolan hadn't had his way with Brandon. But was that really all that good?  
He had decided to go after Nolan alone and get Brittany, even if it killed him.  
He was standing in front of Yusuke's house, on his front porch. He raised his hand to knock on the door, then hesitated. How was he going to handle this? What if his mother over heard them? What if he really wasn't lying about his mother?  
He shook his head, and then knocked on the door. Unlike Kuwabara's house, he heard movement almost immediately. A few seconds later, the door opened and Yusuke was standing in the doorway. He asked, "What do you want?" in his usual tough guy attitude.  
Brandon couldn't help but smile. "So the note hasn't changed you one bit, that's good." Yusuke looked surprised by this statement.  
"What do you mean?" Yusuke inquired.   
Brandon withdrew from his pocket the folded black note, opened it, took out his crystal necklace, and touched it to the paper, revealing what was written there.  
Yusuke rummaged through his own pocket and withdrew a similar looking piece of parchment. "Yeah, well, I've tried," he said. "Who'd they take for you to come? And it seems I-"  
"Have a little explaining to do?" Brandon interrupted, smirking. "They took Kuwabara. The guy raided his house and left a demon there to kill me. So yes, allow me to come in so you can explain and tell my why you made such a bold ass lie."  
"Yeah yeah, come in," Yusuke replied, moving to the side as to allow Brandon passing room to come in.  
"So, first things first, I have-"  
"A secret?" Yusuke interrupted. "Yeah, I know. You're a Dark Mage, right? Awakened by the same Nolan guy who kidnapped Keiko."  
"Uh...Yeah?" Brandon responded, confused. "How did you find all this out when I don't even fully know your secret?"  
"Well," Yusuke started, "You could say a little toddler told me."  
"Uh huh...Right. So...What the fuck is a Spirit Detective guy person?"  
"Well, me," Yusuke answered, looking proud.  
Brandon looked at him as if he were the biggest idiot in all of Japan, none the less Tokyo. "Duh!" Brandon said as he tapped his head with the heel of his hand. "What exactly is it? And why do you have to have such a cool title? Why not me?"  
"Well, because you're you, and you don't know how to use your spirit energy. And I died. I was revived and appointed detective of the Spirit World. I fight and kill, as well as capture, evil demons. I keep the Ningenkai, this plain of humanity, safe."  
Brandon's jaw was hanging open. He slowly closed it, then said, "How much does it pay an hour?"  
Yusuke laughed, and then said, "Sense of humor all the way 'till the end, eh?"  
"Now, what is this Dark Tournament?" Brandon asked.  
Yusuke started to walk away and said, "How about you just fight and worry about the explanation later."  
Brandon grabbed Yusuke by the shoulder and threw him up against the wall. "Fuckin' tell me!"  
Yusuke smiled, then muttered, "Whoa, dei ja vo!" He started laughing "Okay, I'll tell you about it, don't worry."  
Brandon hardly heard through his own chuckling. He let go of Yusuke, stopped laughing, and then said, "Okay, let's here it."  
"Basically, the Dark Tournament is a huge fight between demon teams. Though there are also mixed teams. But anyways...Hundreds upon hundreds of demons buy tickets to see the gore fest, as in most cases it's a fight to the death. And that's not counting the ones who watch it on TV.  
"There are 8 different teams, fighting one-on-one elimination battles, winner walks home. The winning team gets a wish for each teammate. The wishes are made, and the demons go home until the next tournament."  
"Well..." Brandon hesitantly said, "Do I have to fight?"  
" 'Go to the Dark Tournament. Get together a team of five. Otherwise you and your friends are dead.' ,remember?"  
"Oh yeah...forgot. So who's our team of five?  
"Well, there's me, you, Hiei, Kurama, and we need one more. I was thinking Kuwabara, but-"  
"Kurama is taken as well, Urimeshi."  
Both Yusuke and Brandon looked towards the window. Standing in the windowsill was a short man. He was wearing all black. He had blood red eyes and gravity defying, black spiky hair, white spiky highlights in the front.  
"Oh, hey Hiei," Yusuke greeted him, waving his hand once.  
"And this one," Hiei pointed at Brandon, "will be a good substitute for Kazuma. After all, his dark powers are nothing compared to Kurama's craftiness."  
"Hey, I'm better then you think, Mr. Spiky Head. By the way, how do you get your hair like that?"  
"It's natural, ningen," Hiei responded, not even looking his way.  
"Hey hey hey hey, don't be whipping out any Japanese on me!"  
"I will if I want to, baka," Hiei looked at Brandon as he said this, and then looked back to Yusuke. "Who do you have in mind to replace Kazuma? And who will fill the last spot?"  
Brandon cleared his throat, attracting the other two's attentions. He was smiling a know-it-all smile. "I know a couple of people."  
  
...: - - :...  
  
First of all, the flashback Brandon had is an excerpt from my own original fiction. It may be posted at the other fiction site fanfiction.net is talking about. Just like the characters from the disclaimer above, it is copywrited and cannot be used without my permission. Thank you.  
  
Well, this is my second fanfic, so if you don't like it, get over it and send me some suggestions, will ya? And don't forget to rate this story. I hope you enjoyed and know more chapters are on the way.  
  
-Argethio


	3. Old Friends and New Toys

** Old Friends and New Toys  
** Disclaimer-Disclaimer-Disclaimer  
I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho nor do I have any association with the owners. However, I do own Brandon, Alix, and Sakura and they are copywrited to me. Do not use these characters without my permission. Thank you for your time and please enjoy. I would also appreciate it if you would rate this story.  
Disclaimer-Disclaimer-Disclaimer  
- - -  
Brandon cleared his throat, attracting the other two's attentions. He was smiling a know-it-all smile. "I know a couple of people."  
"Who, Fountain?" Hiei asked, curiosity in his voice, though he tried to mask it.  
"Well," Brandon started, "I have a few questions, before yours is answered. First, how do you know of my powers?"  
"I was outside of Kazuma's house. I saw what happened from my tree. I had a very good vantage point."  
"Tree?" Brandon asked half-consciously.  
As Brandon stepped outside, he heard a rustling in a nearby tree. He looked at the tree and was barely able to make out something moving away from him at an insanely fast rate.  
"That was you?" Brandon asked, a sudden realization as he remembered the shape in the tree when he had left Kuwabara's house.  
"Yes, that was me, ningen," Hiei answered. "It wasn't a squirrel. Now answer my question; who do you have in mind for replacements?"  
"I think I'll visit some old friends of mine..."  
- - -  
"Damn it Alix! Where the hell is my chew toy?" a white haired man yelled to a white haired woman.  
"I don't know," the girl responded innocently. "Maybe you shoved it up your ass when you sat on the couch."  
"No, I think you chewed it to itty bitty little pieces, then burnt the pieces and buried the ashes!" the white haired man pointed to Alix accusingly.  
The girl seemed offended and pointed her finger back at him. "Damn it Sakura, you're such a radical hot-head!"  
"You're calling me a hot-head? Ha!" Sakura put his hands on his hips. "Look who's talking, dog!"  
"You're a dog too!" Alix countered, and then pulled on Sakura's white dog-ears on top of his head.  
"Oh yeah," Sakura said thoughtfully, hitting her hands away from his ears. "I forgot about that..." He then flicked Alix's black dog-ears. "But you're still the bitch."  
"WHAT!?" Alix yelled, then gave chase after Sakura as he ran around their small house.  
Alix caught up with him and tackled him. She turned him face up, got on him, and drew her hand back into a fist. As she was about to hit him, the doorbell rang.  
"Saved by the bell," Sakura said. Alix looked at him, punched him in the right eye, and then got off of him and went to answer the door.  
She turned the doorknob and opened the door. Standing there was her old friend Brandon. Oh yes, and a freaky short man with spiky black hair and the Spirit Detective.  
"Oh my god!" Alix yelled out, then ran to Brandon and hugged him. "Oh, wow. How long has it been?"  
"Uh..." Brandon murmured, trying not to laugh. "It's only been eight months."  
"Oh," Alix said, confused. "Well, eight months can seem like a lot of years, you know?"  
"No, I don't," Brandon responded.  
"Who's at the door, Alix?" a voice asked from inside. Then from behind the girl Sakura walked up, holding an ice pack to his right eye. "Brandon! Oh my god! Oh wow! How long has it been?"  
Brandon shook his head, this time he couldn't hold back his laughter. Yusuke chuckled along with him, and Hiei said, "Hn, bakas."  
Alix hit Hiei upside the head and said, "You can't call me a baka, ningen."  
Hiei gritted his teeth and slapped her across the face, leaving a deep-red mark on her cheek. "Do not call me a ningen, dog," Hiei said, anger coursing through his veins.  
"You are, fucker. And if you ever slap me again I will be forced to hurt you very badly." Sakura tapped her shoulder twice. "What?!" she snapped at him.  
"He isn't a ningen, fool. He's Hiei, the fire apparition. It seems you're the fucker, Alix."  
Alix's jaw fell open and her eyes became very wide. She first stared at Sakura, then turned her head back to Hiei. "Is this true?"  
"Hn." Hiei smirked, then said, "Of course."  
Yusuke and Brandon doubled over in laughter. It was a very comical scene, as they saw it. Something you would only see in a book, a fan fic, or even in an anime show (Funny how this story is the later two...).  
"What are you laughing at!?" Hiei, Alix, and Sakura yelled angrily at the same exact moment, fists raised threateningly.  
"Oh, nothing, nothing," Brandon was the first to subside his laughter, and thusly first to speak. "It's just..." He started laughing again, uncontrollably.  
"Just what?" Sakura asked, lowering his fist as Hiei's contacted with Brandon's jaw.  
"Nice shot!" Alix said, throwing her fist into the air in pure exhilaration. "Way to go, Hiei!"  
"Hn," Hiei grunted, rubbing his fist. "His jaw is too bony."  
"Ouchie..." Brandon muttered, rubbing his jaw. "That can't be good on the bones..." He started chuckling again, received a death glare from Hiei, and then stopped. He spat a bit of blood onto the ground, then said, "May we come inside, kitsunes?"  
"We're not foxes, temee," Alix responded, punching Brandon on the other side of his jaw. "We're wolves!"  
Brandon did not hear this, as the last punch knocked him unconscious. "Ops..." Alix muttered. "Didn't mean to hurt my fist."  
"Oyasumi!" Sakura said smiling, waving his hand at Brandon's motionless body.  
  
- - -  
  
"Nani ka?" Brandon heard, sunlight piercing his shut eyelids. He opened his eyes, the sunlight stabbing his eyes like a thousand needles. He felt like he had a hangover, except for the absence of nausea.  
"Yurusai!" someone else shouted. He sounded old. He wished he knew what they were saying. He couldn't move, though he tried with all his might.  
"Dousuru?" the first asked. It was a girl, and she sounded young, no more than 16.  
"Yurusai!" the man yelled again. Brandon heard skin on skin contact, like a slap, then heard the girl mutter, "Sumimasen."  
"What the fuck?" Brandon asked, barely able to hear his own voice. He heard the man and girl startle, not expecting to hear him speak.  
"Nani?" the man asked, holding his arm out to keep the girl from coming any closer.  
"Are you speaking Japanese?" Brandon wondered aloud.  
The girl ran past the man's arm and knelt at Brandon's side. "Daijobu desu ka?"  
He looked over to her. She was pretty. A round Asian face with slightly slanted brown eyes framed with long, black silk-like hair. She was wearing a red kimono, white and pink sakura flowers on it. As he looked over, he saw no straps attached to him, no bonds. Then why can't I move? Brandon thought, frustrated.  
The man walked over after a short while of amazement. He was completely bald and his face was wrinkled and scarred. He was wearing a deep blue silk cloak, a white sash around his waist and a design of a blooming sakura tree wrapping around it. "Dare da, kisama?" he asked.  
Brandon chuckled nervously and said, "I don't have the slightest clue as to what you said."  
The girl seemed to come to a sudden realization. She looked to the man, then to Brandon and said, "He asked who are you?"  
Brandon's eyes went wide. This girl spoke English? He cleared his throat, but before he could say anything, the old man interrupted.  
"Kage no Kou!" he shouted, scared.  
"Kage no who?" Brandon asked the girl, nervous again.  
"Machigainai!" he yelled again.  
"Um..." Brandon muttered under his breath.  
"He's calling you the Child of the Shadows. He thinks there is no mistake."  
"I'm no Child of the Shadows," Brandon said nervously. "I'm Brandon." He looked to the man. "Bran-don" he pronounced the syllables slowly, as if talking to a child.  
"Bran-don?" the man asked, pronouncing as Brandon did. "Iya da! Kage no Kou."  
"Gr..." Brandon growled, becoming impatient. "Um...I have a problem." He said, shaking his head. "How do I tell your grandfather or whatever I can't move?"  
"Karada ga ugokanai," she whispered.  
"Uh, karada ga ugokanai, or, yeah, whatever."  
The man raised a stick, seemingly out of nowhere, and struck Brandon in the face. "Was it something I said?" Brandon asked as he blacked out.  
  
- - -  
  
"What do you mean?" he heard a familiar female voice say. Brandon opened his eyes to see Alix looking into his face, holding a gray cloth to his nose.  
"Whad?" he asked, his nose extremely sore. "Whad do _you_ bean?"  
"I mean, why did you ask me if it was something you said!? Of course it was something you said! Did you not take Japanese? Kitsune is fox-demon, baka!"  
"Oh..." he said, "I thoughd id beant debod, dot fox debod."  
"Stop talking, fool! Your nose is broken!" She pinched his nose through the cloth, causing a rush of pain to course through the bridge of his nose.  
"Oh," Brandon muttered, "How did dat haben?"  
"I think I hit your nose when I socked you in the jaw. Now hold still, I'm going to bind it." She turned from him, rummaged through something he could not see, then turned back to him with a roll of white cloth and a small white bottle, labeled in Japanese.  
It took a painful five minutes as Alix cut strips from the cloth, dipped them into the bottle, then placed them firmly on the bridge of his nose.  
Sakura snuck up behind Alix and jolted her shoulders as she laid the last strip of cloth. She jumped in fright, her fore finger jabbing his broken nose and her thumb poking his eye.  
"Oh by fucking god!" Brandon screamed in pain, running after the now greatly frightened Sakura, Alix apologizing all along the way, hiding atop one of the roof beams.  
After a few minutes of capturing Sakura and beating him to a pulp, Brandon laid back on the small bed he had awoken from and Alix came down from the ceiling, apologizing once more. As he plopped onto the bed, his head hit something hard underneath his pillow. He lifted his head and rummaged under his pillow while the wolf demons beat each other up. He pulled out a long black wooden case, longer than the pillow could have possibly covered. The package was a total of ten feet long, one and a half feet wide, and five inches thick. He felt a pulsing coming from inside of the box. His black crystal necklace lifted from under his shirt, unhooked itself from around his neck, and floated to the box. There it hovered, the crystal's tip pointing to the box. It then lowered enough where it touched the box. Blood red letters appeared on the surface of the box, spelling out the following;  
Happy Birthday, Brandon. Hope you have fun with your  
New toy. We will meet soon, and I have another surprise  
Birthday gift, child.  
Love always,  
  
Nolan  
Fear rose within him, placing a lump in his throat. Should I open it? He thought. It could be a trap. This thing could explode in my face, or be a portal to suck me into the Void. But then again, that's not Nolan's style. He doesn't make such obvious traps. I guess curiosity is going to win this ego battle  
He slowly lifted the lid of the box. Inside was a large sword, sheathed within it's blacker than black scabbard. The blade seemed to be about seven feet long, and the black leather-wrapped handle two. The counterweight was shaped like three closely bunched, thick silver fangs, a black jewel inlaid in the middle one.

The cross-guard was two intricately curving spikes on each side, tips pointing towards the blade. He picked the blade up. It was heavy, but not too heavy for him to wield in combat. It was much lighter than he would have thought such a large blade could possibly weigh. He took the handle of the sword in his right hand, gripping near the cross-guard, and pulled. The blade unsheathed smoothly, making the muffled sound of metal on metal. The blade was even more intricate than the handle, counterweight, and cross- guard put together, though it still went with the concept of each one. Is was a very gothic-style blade. At the base the sword was about five inches wide. It went for about one foot, four large curved serration spikes on each side, pointing towards the cross-guard. Out of each side came a large hook-like extension, facing the tip of the sword. After this, the blade swerved in and out two times, each one and a half feet long. Then, the blade curved in once more, then out, gradually slanting another three feet to the sharp, pointed, centered tip. Two feet from the tip, on the flat of the blade on each side, small, long, cheese-grater style blades protruding. Wow, it would really suck if someone were stabbed with this thing! He thought.  
"Where did dis cob frob?" he asked the bickering demons. "And where are Yusuke and Hiei?"  
"Where did what 'cob frob'?" Sakura said mockingly, then caught sight of the silver sword. "Whoa...Nice decapitator. Where'd you get it?"  
"Dat's what I'b drying do ask you!" Brandon yelled. "I foud dis under by pillow."  
"Wow, it would really suck if someone were stabbed with that thing!" Alix exclaimed, jaw hanging open.  
Brandon smiled and shook his, then said, "By thought exactly. Dow, where is the rest of the teab?"  
"Rest of what team?" Sakura asked, confused.  
"Oh yeah! That Dark Tournament thingy-ma-jig!" Alix exclaimed. "The 'team' went out to get some Chinese food."  
"Fudy," Brandon said, "how they're goingd to fid Chidese food id Japad."  
"So, Brandon my friend, are you going to use that sword in the Tournament Dark?" Sakura asked. His head snapped sharply to the side, then back to face Brandon, "Dark Tournament?"  
"Um..." Brandon said, raising an eyebrow, "Yeah, yeah, if I can learn to use it."  
The door burst open, followed by Hiei and Yusuke, each heavily burdened with white Chinese carry-out packages.  
"Dinner's here!" Yusuke yelled.

...(.:.)...

I know I have used alot of Japanese in this chapter, so I'll provide translations to all you ningens, hehe.

Baka- Stupid/idiot

Ningen- Human

Nani ka?- What is it?

Yurusai- Shut up/Be quiet

Dousuru?- What to do?/What am I going to do?

Nani?- What?

Daijobu desu ka?- Are you okay?/Are you alright?

Dare da, kisama?- Who are you?

Kage no Kou- The Child of the Shadows

Machigainai- There's no mistake/That's for sure

Iya da- No

Karada ga ugokanai- (My) body can't move


End file.
